Enos Slaughter
Enos Bradsher Slaughter (April 27 1916 - August 12 2002) was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball. Nicknamed "Country", he batted .300 for 19 seasons, the first 13 with the St. Louis Cardinals. Born in Roxboro, North Carolina, he joined the Cardinals in 1938 before being traded to the New York Yankees in 1954. Batting left-handed and throwing right, he was renowned for a smooth, flat swing that made him a reliable "contact" hitter. Slaughter had 2,383 hits in his career, including 169 home runs, and 1,304 RBIs in 2,380 games. Slaughter played 19 seasons with the Cardinals, Yankees, Kansas City Athletics, and Milwaukee Braves. During that period, he was a 10-time All-Star and played in five World Series. His 1,751 games played ranks third in Cardinals history behind Lou Brock and Stan Musial. In 1946 he led the National League with 130 RBI and led the Cardinals to a World Series win over the Boston Red Sox. In the seventh game of that series, Slaughter made a famous "Mad Dash" for home from first base on Harry Walker's double in the eighth inning of game seven with two outs and the game tied 3-3. This play was named #10 on the Sporting News list of Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments in 2001. He was known for his hustle, especially for running hard to first base on walks, a habit copied later by Pete Rose. When Slaughter was a minor leaguer in Columbus, Georgia he came running towards the dugout from his post in the outfield. He slowed down near the infield and began walking the rest of the way. Manager Eddie Dyer told him, "Son, if you're tired, we'll try to get you some help." For the rest of his career, Slaughter ran everywhere he went on a baseball field. Sportswriters alleged that in May 1947, Slaughter and Terry Moore, both Southerners, tried to persuade their Cardinal teammates to go on strike to protest Jackie Robinson's admittance to the National League. The supposed strike plans never came to fruition, and some baseball historians now question the story's veracity. In an incident three months after the strike controversy, with Robinson playing first base for the Dodgers, Slaughter hit an infield ground ball and was thrown out by several steps. With Robinson stretched out to make the catch, Slaughter spiked him in the leg. Slaughter denied any malicious intent on the play, and some baseball historians agree that the incident was merely a result of Slaughter's old-school baseball mentality. The incident came on the heels of several high profile brawls between the Cardinals and Dodgers during the pennant races of the 1940s, with Dodger manager and former Cardinal Leo Durocher often at their center. Slaughter himself said, "I asked no odds and I give none. A guy got in my way, I run over him." Other commentators, however, attached racist motives to Slaughter's actions. After his retirement, sportswriters delayed Slaughter's entrance to the Hall of Fame over the questionable racial incidents that he was linked to. In later years, Slaughter was asked if he would have an objection to managing black players, and responded that as long as they produced and played hard he would have no problem doing so. Some baseball historians and many contemporaries believe that it was not perceived racism on the part of Slaughter that made him controversial, but rather that it was his relentless give-no-quarter philosophy in the era of coddled free agents that caused the modern baseball establishment to shun him. Aside from the racial accusations swirling around the Robinson incident, Slaughter was known for his generally intense, often violent style of play. The Sporting News quoted one Dodger contemporary as calling Slaughter "the dirtiest player in the league," a charge Slaughter himself did not refute. Slaughter was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in ; his jersey number nine was retired by the Cardinals in 1996, and the team dedicated a statue depicting his famous Mad Dash in 1999. Slaughter was a fixture at statue dedications at Busch Stadium II for other Cardinal Hall of Famers during the last years of his life. After battling non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Slaughter died at age 86 in 2002. See also * Top 500 home run hitters of all time * List of major league players with 2,000 hits * List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles * List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples * List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs * List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI * List of Major League Baseball RBI champions * List of Major League Baseball doubles champions * List of Major League Baseball triples champions External links *Baseball Hall of Fame * *Baseballlibrary.com Category:Hall of Fame Category:1942 St. Louis Cardinals World Series Championship Team Category:1946 St. Louis Cardinals World Series Championship Team Category:1956 New York Yankees World Series Championship Team Category:1958 New York Yankees World Series Championship Team Category:Major League Baseball right fielders Category:Kansas City Athletics players Category:Milwaukee Braves players Category:New York Yankees players Category:St. Louis Cardinals players Category:National League All-Stars Category:National League RBI champions Category:Players from North Carolina Category:North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame Category:1916 births Category:2002 deaths Category:Deaths from lymphoma Category:Cancer deaths in North Carolina Category:Players with retired numbers Category:Players